Google Ads catch people who are already searching for your specialty and location. Meta Ads reach people who are not searching yet, with creative that names the service and how to book, without targeting a diagnosis. Catalyze Care manages either channel, or both, for $2,500 a month, and media spend is billed separately. See how we run both on paid ads for healthcare practices.
In one sentenceUse Google Ads when people are searching for care, and Meta Ads when you need awareness, with creative and tracking that stay inside healthcare ad rules.
When Google Ads fit
Search ads fit when patients type the care and the place: a therapist in a city, a psychiatry practice that takes a payer, a specialty with open slots this month. The click arrives with a question. The landing page should answer that question: who you see, the insurance you take, and a phone number or form that intake can handle.
Google also reviews healthcare ads under its healthcare and medicines policy, and some categories need extra certification before ads run. Its personalized advertising rules list health as a restricted category, so remarketing and customer lists cannot be built around a health condition. Build the account around services and locations you actually offer, and send each ad to a page that matches the search. Call tracking should count conversations your front desk can confirm, not every hang-up.
When Meta Ads fit
Meta fits when the people you want are not typing a query. Parents planning a school transition, adults who know they want therapy and have not searched yet, or a community that should know a new office opened. The ad has to earn the click with the creative, because there is no search term to match.
Meta removed detailed targeting options tied to health causes in 2022, and its advertising standards do not allow ads that assert or imply a person's physical or mental health. Use geography, age where the platform allows it, and creative that lets the right person self-select. Do not build an audience from a diagnosis, a medication, or a patient list. Meta Ads for healthcare without condition targeting covers the practical limits.
Creative that stays HIPAA-aware
Write the ad and the landing page so a stranger could read both without learning a patient's condition. Name the service line, ages, insurance, location, and the next step. Leave diagnosis, symptoms that identify a person, and member IDs off the ad, the URL, and the thank-you page.
Pixels belong on public pages and a generic thank-you URL. Patient portals and diagnosis-specific success pages stay untagged. The same rules apply if you remarket: public pages only, and exclude people who already booked without passing health information to the platform. Walk the gates in the healthcare paid ads compliance checklist for 2026. Creative specifics for Meta are in HIPAA-aware Meta Ads creative and landing pages.
What the $2,500 fee covers
The published management fee is $2,500 per month. It covers campaign builds, landing guidance, call tracking, and a monthly report on booked inquiries from your intake. Media spend is separate and is billed by the ad platforms. Catalyze Care does not publish a cost per click. The number that belongs on the report is spend next to booked inquiries your front desk can confirm.
Referral marketing, when other offices already send the specialty, is a different line at $5,000 a month with a 3-month minimum. SEO is $799 a month. Paid ads are the channel for openings that need nearer-term demand.
How to choose for the next quarter
- Start with Google Ads when search demand exists and the landing page matches the service.
- Add Meta Ads when you need awareness and creative can stand without a diagnosis.
- Hold both until intake can answer the calls. More spend on a full schedule does not create visits.
Bring your current accounts to a demo and we will say which channel matches the openings you have, and how our paid ads management would run it.
Sources: Google Ads, Healthcare and medicines policy; Google Ads, Restricted targeting in personalized advertising; Meta for Business, Removing certain ad targeting options; Meta Advertising Standards, Privacy violations and personal attributes.
FAQ
Should a practice run Google Ads or Meta Ads?
Use Google Ads when patients already search for your specialty and location. Use Meta Ads when you need awareness among people who are not searching yet. Many practices run both. Catalyze Care manages either for $2,500/month, with media billed separately.
Can Meta Ads target people by diagnosis?
No. Meta removed detailed targeting options tied to health causes, and its ad standards do not allow ads that assert or imply a person's health. Creative should name the service, who you see, insurance, and how to book. Meta Ads for healthcare without condition targeting covers the practical limits.
What does the $2,500 paid ads fee cover?
The $2,500 monthly management fee covers campaign builds, landing guidance, call tracking, and a monthly report on booked inquiries from your intake. Media spend is billed separately.
Do Google Ads and Meta Ads share one landing page?
They can share a page when the offer is the same. A Google ad for one service should land on the page for that service. A Meta ad can land on a broader page that still says who you take, the insurance you accept, and how to book.
What should be true before either channel scales?
Creative matches the platform rules, tracking keeps patient information out of the ad platforms, and someone at the practice can answer the calls. The checks are in the healthcare paid ads compliance checklist for 2026.